Astros win ugly Game 3 against Dodgers, take 2-1 series lead

HOUSTON – Say this about the Houston Astros, when they catch a whiff of weakness in an opponent, they know how to deal the killer blow.

One night it was the late knockout punch that did it, and in the next game it was an early and equally lethal pounding of an opposing starter.

And any way you score the impressive two wins, the Los Angeles Dodgers are staggering and no longer in control of a World Series they were favoured to win.

Both methods of destruction worked rather well for the Astros, who after a 5-3 win here on Friday night have now taken a 2-1 series lead and have forced the hand of the Dodgers, the winningest team in baseball in 2017 and one that breezed through the National League bracket to get here.

Perhaps even more daunting, the Astros are now a killer 7-0 in their rollicking home this post season, and with games here Saturday and Sunday, now must be considered favourites over L.A.

In the latest win, the home team smelled the blood of Dodgers starting pitcher Yu Darvish almost from the moment his first batting practice quality toss reached the plate. Baseball’s highest-scoring offence wouldn’t let up until they had chased Darvish with just five outs and four runs scored and a measly 1.2 innings pitched.

“Four runs in one inning in any game is big,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “Four runs in the World Series is huge. To get that kind of momentum, get the crowd into it, have a lead, it puts a ton of pressure on the other dugout.”

And, yes, in that other dugout, Dodger counterpart Dave Roberts knew exactly what was happening, but could do nothing to stop it quick enough.

First a solo homer from Yuli Gurriel – that was tainted by a racist gesture he directed to Darvish once Gurriel returned to the dugout.

Then a double from Josh Reddick, and by the time four runs had crossed, Roberts had no choice but to make the move.

“When your starter goes five outs, you’ve got to find a way to cover some innings,” Roberts said. “Down 4-0, you have to go to the pen right there to give us a chance to just stay in the game.”

The Dodgers did manage to stick around, but the early damage proved to be enough.

No one should be suggesting the series is over, but there is clearly some momentum on the side of the Astros, who took Game 2 in Los Angeles with an 11th-inning KO in the form of a two-run George Springer homer.

Darvish, who the Dodgers saved for a Game 3 start because he had some success at Minute Maid while with the Texas Rangers, looked lost and uncomfortable from the outset.

He gave up six hits and four runs and left after just four outs. By then, he had thrown 48 pitches and dug his team a hole. Roberts trotted out a parade of relievers to try to keep his team close, and now is in desperate need of Alex Woods to go deep into his start on Saturday.

“It looked like he was out of sorts based on how he’s pitched the last month,” Hinch said of Darvish. “I think our discipline and our approach was very, very refined to just getting a good fastball to hit once we thought his slider and his cutter weren’t effective.”

On the other side, Hinch needed only two pitchers – McCullers and Brad Peacock, who was terrific in 3.2 innings of hitless relief.

ANOTHER STUTTER START

Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. didn’t exactly seem comfortable early in his first World Series appearance.

His response to his teammates taking him to a 4-0 lead was certainly underwhelming. McCullers walked the bottom two on the Dodgers order to start and then loaded the bases with another to Justin Taylor.

Somehow he got out of the bases-loaded nobody-out jam by allowing just one run, however, and left the field with a fist pump. Like Roberts in the previous inning, the McCullers’s struggles required a visit to the mound from Hinch.

“I didn’t really have much from the get go. I wasn’t really able to locate anything,” McCullers said. “I think in that situation, you’re one pitch away, one executed pitch away from a double play.

“For me, that was make or break.”

WHAT NOW?

The offence is struggling, the Astros are unbeatable at home, and the momentum has clearly swung. So what’s next for the Dodgers?

“I think we just have to go out there and pitch well out of the game,” Roberts said. “Obviously, their crowd is very educated, very into it, very enthusiastic.

“When we are at our best or any offence is at its best, they stay disciplined in the strike zone, and right now we’re chasing a little bit more than we usually do.”

YU STINKS

Darvish picked a miserable time to have the worst game of his MLB career. The 1.2 innings he lasted before Roberts could finally get someone warm in the pen was the shortest outing of his career, both post-season and regular season.

He didn’t get his fourth out of the game until his 46th pitch, and by then the Dodgers had jumped out to a 4-0 lead.

It is suspected that the Dodgers saved Darvish for the Game 3 start because of his familiarity with Minute Maid, which he visited regularly while with the Texas Rangers. In six starts in Houston, Darvish had four wins and a tidy 2.16 ERA.

“The fastball command wasn’t there, and the slider was backing up," Roberts said. "So he just really didn’t have the feel and couldn’t get any type of rhythm going.”

QUICK HITS

While not as damaging as Darvish, it was a night Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger would rather soon forget. Bellinger struck out four times. He is now 0-for-11 in the series with seven strikeouts … It wasn’t just starting pitching that was sloppy for the Dodgers. Yasiel Puig had a brain cramp in the sixth when he ripped a shot down the left-field line that should have been an easy double. But Puig eased up after reaching first and then, realizing what was happening, made a wide turn, only to get gunned down at second … McCullers had just three strikeouts in the game, all of them on Cody Bellinger. … On the other hand, the Astros were solid defensively, most notably a nice running catch by centre fielder Springer to rob Chris Taylor of a run-scoring hit … Injured Houston Texans defender J.J. Watt threw out the ceremonial first pitch and nearly brought down the house … Astros right-hander Charlie Morton is scheduled to face Dodgers lefty Wood in Saturday’s Game 4.